Good riddance to night rider

By Kelly Yates
A MOTORCYCLIST was caught doing more than 160km/h in a 100km/h zone along the Monash Freeway in Narre Warren over the weekend as police swarmed the streets in Casey for Operation Ardent.
The 25-year-old rider from Frankston had his bike impounded for 48 hours and was fined $597 after he was caught by police just before midnight on Saturday, between Princes Highway and Tinks Road.
The man is set to lose eight demerit points and have his licence suspended for 12 months.
Operation Ardent, which is aimed at taking dangerous drivers off the road, finished up in the City of Casey on Sunday night, with motorists committing more than 680 offences during the weekend blitz.
Police used booze and drug buses, marked and unmarked cars and mobile speed cameras to catch drivers doing the wrong thing in Narre Warren, Cranbourne and Endeavour Hills.
A 20-year-old man had his car impounded for doing 141km/h in an 80km/h section on the Princes Highway in Hallam.
Of the 688 offences detected as part of Operation Ardent, 28 motorists exceeded the alcohol or drug limit and 151 motorists were caught speeding – 125 of those doing between 10km/h and 25km/h over the speed limit.
Police said “astoundingly” 43 people were not wearing their seatbelts and 56 motorists were caught using their mobile phones while driving.
Road Policing Superintendent Neville Taylor said he was amazed at the “stupidity” of some drivers.
“Even though we made it known that police would be out in force, it is obvious that there are a lot of people that are still willing to put themselves and others at risk of being injured and take the risk of getting caught,” he said.
Thirteen people have died on roads in the Casey, Cardinia, and Greater Dandenong areas and 21 have sustained serious injuries as a result of collisions between January and June this year.
Casey is the second worst area in the state for road trauma.